NYT It’s that time of year again. School is starting, the days are getting shorter and the familiar “flu shots available” signs are appearing outside pharmacies.
Each year, the flu kills tens of thousands of people in the United States, on average, and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized.
How can you protect yourself this season? Here’s what you need to know.
Should I get a flu vaccine?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual flu shots for everyone 6 months and older, including young, healthy people with no underlying conditions.
You need a new vaccine even if you got one last year, both because the antibodies from last year’s shot will have waned by now and because the shots are tailored each year to target different flu strains.